Missing in Action

“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. If I give all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

A song in the 60’s resonates in my head a lot lately:
“What the world needs now is love; sweet love.” We, my friends, are in desperate need of love.

The Lord is challenging me to try
my best to view things from His frame of reference – seeing through His eyes, so to speak. No, I don’t think I’m better than you. No, I don’t believe I’ve cornered the market on spirituality. But I do believe something is off,
terribly off, in our society. The love factor has gone underground. When it disappeared, God was eliminated with it.

Oh, we try to blame the lack of prayer in schools. We point to our pet
political project as being the culprit of our world gone amuck. Yet, everything we try to blame for our loveless situation has always been there. Rebellion has always been around. Challenges to God’s word – always been there. Differences in perspective
aren’t anything new. Sin has existed since the beginning of time. What’s missing is the Jesus factor – love.

As we near Valentine’s Day, my prayer is that all God’s
children will take a self-inventory asking the question, “What rules my life?” God is teaching me to gauge my actions and reactions based on His love.

Fake news from both sides
– love.

Debates regarding white privilege – love.

Embellished stories coming out of New York in lieu of their
recent law – love.

Whether to build a wall or not build a wall – love.

I’m not talking about a “Mickey-mousey”
kind of put-your-head-in-the-sand-and-pretend-the-world-is-made-of-puppy-dogs type of love. I’m talking about choosing to see the best in people. Realizing I don’t know everything about everything. Understanding we all have a lot to learn and TV
news isn’t our spiritual university. Learning to listen just for the sake of listening in hopes of fully understanding another person. Ceasing to talk about how bad things are when someone wants to share their joy. (Ouch on this one. I made a safety
remark to a close friend who just wanted to share she enjoys writing on a chalkboard.)

As a Christian, I must learn to rejoice in the joy of others while shedding tears for
the pain inflicted on some. What the world needs now is love, sweet love. In a world of entitlement, selfishness, greed, arrogance, frustration, competition, and heated debates – “it’s
the ONLY thing there is just too little of.”